Abir’s inspiration

Often it’ my colleagues who fan the flames of inspiration within. Their acts of dedication, perspiration, and commitment render me speechless.
Such was my experience, when I viewed the images onClimate Refugee’s by photographer Abir Abdullah. Stunning and quiet his images reminds me of our humanness and of our collective agreement in this era called “Global Warming.” With all the facts and figures surrounding “Global Warming” I find that it sometimes makes the issue a little too painful to the ear and the urgency growing a little deeper under the skin. Then, the strong speaking quietude of his photographs brings the point further home and meeting no resistance… such is the power of the still image.

Abir writes:

“Nature has never made it easy to live in Bangladesh. Since childhood, I lived with my family right beside a riverbank. We swam in the river, we played and we even relied on the river for transportation. In short, our life had its highs and lows with that of the river. Sometimes, our house flooded during the full moon and we feared being washed away or left floating in the river. Thus we grew up with the river and flooding was very much a part of us. In 1988, I witnessed the biggest flood of the country, one of the largest in Bangladesh history, though I was not a photographer at the time. Since then, I have witnessed the three major floods of the last decade as a photographer and I have seen the stories of the displaced people who eventually lost their homes. Many today live in other lands, and many have been forced to migrate to the cities seeking better prospects. Consequently, the capital fills up with more people every day.”